Five-mile queues as the people say farewell to Chávez

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They described him as their father and themselves as his orphans. They wept
and fainted, chanted and sang, extolling him as a martyr, a hero and the
saviour of their nation.

Then, as fleets of chauffeured air-conditioned vehicles delivered foreign
leaders and VIPs to the door of the Fuerte Tiuna Military Academy in
Caracas, the weary, sweating masses outside fell silent and still, turning
to large video screens to witness Hugo Chávez’s final appearance on the
world stage.

“We are here to honour the Supreme Leader of the Bolivarian Revolution . . .
immortal president, commander of the revolution,” said the master of

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Chávez supporters carry his portrait as they wait for his funeral

March 9 2013 Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters

Chávez supporters carry his portrait as they wait for his funeral

March 9 2013 Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters

'His spirit and soul live on,' says Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, of Iran, arriving for the funeral

March 9 2013 BORIS VERGARA/EPA

Cuba’s President Raul Castro salutes the body Hugo Chavez

March 9 2013 Miraflores Palace/Reuters

The crowd lifts to safety a supporter who has fainted while waiting to view the body

March 9 2013 Carlos Garcia Rawlins/Reuters

A mourner and her children outside the military academy where the Chávez funeral will take place

March 9 2013 AP

A man adjusts a banner before the start of the funeral

March 9 2013 Getty Images

President Ollanta Humala of Peru views Chávez's body

March 9 2013 Reuters

Mr Chávez's coffin on its way through the streets to the miltary academy